First VP: Boosting foreign investment in petchem sector, Iran's priority
A priority of the Iranian government is to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) for development projects in the petrochemical industry, said the first vice president.
Es'haq Jahangiri, who was addressing the opening ceremony of 11th International Exhibition of Plastics Rubber, Machinery and Equipment, called Iran Plast 2017 in Tehran on Sunday, noted that Iran has attracted some $14 billion in FDI following the July 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with the P5+1, IRNA reported.
He added petrochemical production, which is Iran's main industry, is highly dynamic and in compliance with state policies.
The inauguration ceremony was also attended by Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Deputy Oil Minister for Petrochemical Affairs Marzieh Shahdaei and a number of Iranian MPs as well as senior directors from the petrochemical industry.
Petchem projects
Speaking at the same ceremony, Zanganeh said Iran is expected to launch three major petrochemical projects by mid-March 2018.
He listed the projects as Kaveh, Phase 3 of Pardis and Bushehr petrochemical projects, all to be implemented in south Iran.
Once operational, the projects will add 5.5 million tons to the country's annual petrochemical production capacity.
Zanganeh called on Iranian companies to grasp the opportunity provided by the presence of foreign investors in Iran to boost the value of their productions, transfer modern technologies to the country and produce more value-added products, while refraining from production of low quality items and those with low value-added.
Representatives of 600 domestic firms and 524 foreign companies from 23 countries are taking part in the expo.
The event is Iran's biggest exhibition showcasing latest products and achievements in the polymer and plastic industries. The motto of this year's expo is 'Improving Job and Business Market in Iran's Processing Industries in the Fields of Producing Plastic and Petrochemicals'.
The foreign companies are from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Greece, India, Serbia, Italy, South Korea, Austria, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Spain, the UK, Thailand, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Turkey, Taiwan, China, Japan and the UAE.